Gwanghwamun sushi restaurant with private booth seats: Choe Uyeong

Today I'm bringing a review of Choe Uyeong Sushiya Jongno Branch, a Gwanghwamun-area restaurant I stopped by while out on a date with Bokdolssi in Gwanghwamun and Jongno! It left a strong impression as a Jongak Station spot with a pile of fresh sashimi, great value, and a comfortable interior — here's my recommendation.

• ⏰ Daily 11:00–21:30 (break time: 15:00–17:00)
• 🚗 Parking available (2 hours free)

Where we sat at Choe Uyeong Sushiya Jongno Branch, near Jongak Station

Choe Uyeong Sushiya Jongno Branch is a sushi restaurant in the Gwanghwamun commercial area near Jongak Station. On a weekend evening out with Bokdolssi in Gwanghwamun, we debated what to have for dinner and ended up here to eat the sushi Bokdolssi loves so much!

We hurried inside! Maybe because it's a newly opened branch, the interior was really clean and comfortable. We were shown to this booth-style seat divided by a partition. Private and cozy — perfect for a date, and I loved it, haha.

Being a sushi restaurant between Gwanghwamun and Jongak, an area packed with office workers, there were also plenty of solo-diner seats set up. I imagine a lot of nearby office workers come here to eat alone too!

At the table, basic tableware, house-made soy sauce, and pickled radish (rakkyo) were already set out!

Choe Uyeong Sushiya menu and what we ordered

This is the menu board of Choe Uyeong Sushiya, a Gwanghwamun and Jongak Station favorite. The main event is of course sushi, but they also serve kaisendon (seafood rice bowl) piled with fresh seafood. Since we're sushi lovers, we decided to start with the premium sushi set for two!

After ordering, a warm soup came out first! We quickly set up the rest of the side dishes too, haha.

What comes in the 19,000-won 15-piece premium sushi set

Premium sushi set, 15pcs

Shortly after, our 15-piece premium sushi set arrived! Even just looking at it, the fish was clearly super fresh, and it was loaded with pricey seafood like uni — all for 19,000 won! With prices these days, this was an incredibly good value spread.

Sushi can't go without a clean soju! Soju loaded up! Cheers ❤️ Sushi and soju — such a happy weekend ❤️

For the first bite, I couldn't decide, so I went with my favorite: sea bream! Thick sea bream slathered generously with house-made soy sauce — it was thick and chewy and so delicious ❤️ The house-made soy sauce didn't taste too salty even with a lot of it, so I think it must be lower in sodium!

Next I tried the salmon and eel that I love! Between the two, the eel especially was seasoned well without being too salty — really tasty.

This was my first time seeing snow crab sushi — piled high with crab meat that's a bit of a hassle to pick apart normally. It was new to try it as sushi. And the monkfish liver — no words needed ❤️ Savory and creamy, so delicious!

Sushi made with fresh tuna, plus futomaki (I think?)! The tuna was fresh with no fishy taste at all, which I loved.

Personally, I usually can't eat uni or raw shrimp because of the fishy taste, but since Choe Uyeong Sushiya uses such fresh ingredients, I could eat them without any trouble, haha. The raw shrimp especially was very sweet and delicious! A whole new discovery for raw shrimp for me.

Adding flounder sashimi at Choe Uyeong Sushiya

Flounder sashimi

Eating our way through the sushi, it felt like something was missing, so we ordered flounder sashimi as an add-on too!

Sprinkled with lemon and dipped into the chili vinegar sauce that came with it, the flounder was really chewy and delicious! Packed with protein, it was also great as a drinking snack ❤️

How much tempura you get for 13,000 won

Mixed tempura

Since we still had some soju left, haha, we ordered the mixed tempura too! At 13,000 won, I figured we wouldn't get many pieces — but no way! It came out incredibly generous. Such great value ❤️

Hearty shrimp tempura, mochi, scallop, and sweet potato tempura right to the end — we ate really well and got really full ❤️ Thanks to this restaurant, our Gwanghwamun and Jongak Station date was a success ❤️

Is Choe Uyeong Sushiya good for a date or for eating alone?

We enjoyed a date with Bokdolssi at Choe Uyeong Sushiya, a Gwanghwamun sushi favorite and Jongak Station kaisendon spot ❤️ With fresh sashimi and a comfortable, cozy atmosphere, it's a restaurant that works just as well for a Gwanghwamun date as it does as a solo lunch spot for office workers! If you're looking for a good restaurant in Gwanghwamun or Jongno, give it a visit!